Research Project 1 Children Attitudes Towards School

After acquiring parental approval and a signed informed consent form, ask three students (one in first or second grade, one in third or fourth grade, and one in fifth or sixth grade) about their attitudes towards school. Then answer the questions that follow.

DATA SHEET

Child 1 Child 2 Child 3

Grade_____ Grade_____ Grade___

Sex__ Age__ Sex__ Age__ Sex__ Age__

Questions

Do you like school? Y/N Y/N Y/N

Do you like your teachers? Y/N Y/N Y/N

Do you like the other

students? Y/N Y/N Y/N

Compared to other students,

how well do you do in school?

(better, average, worse) B/A/W B/A/W B/A/W

How do you do in each of the

following subjects?

(Good, Fair, Poor)

Math G/F/P G/F/P G/F/P

Reading G/F/P G/F/P G/F/P

Art G/F/P G/F/P G/F/P

Physical education G/F/P G/F/P G/F/P

Social Studies G/F/P G/F/P G/F/P

Music G/F/P G/F/P G/F/P

Spelling G/F/P G/F/P G/F/P

Writing G/F/P G/F/P G/F/P

What do you like best about school?

What do you like least about school?

Do you expect to go to college or

other school after you get out of

high school?

Questions

1. In general, what are the attitudes toward school? Do students view themselves as successful students?

2. Do attitudes change as students get older?

3. What subjects are rated highest?

Research Project 2 Gender Roles and Television

In this project, you will be required to evaluate three prime-time television shows for gender role stereotyping. Pick three shows between 8:00 arid 9:00 EST that children might watch. For each show record the following information: (1) number of male and female main characters; (2) occupations of main mаle and female characters; (3) thematic connections between males and females, (e.g., female in distress and male as rescuer); (4) personality characteristics of one male and one female from the show (use the Bern androgyny scale to determine masculinity, femininity, or androgyny). Use the following data sheet to record information. Then answer the questions that follow.

DATA SHEET

Program_______________Male Female__________

Number

Occupations

Connections

Sex Type

Program _______Male Female________

Number

Occupations

Connections

Sex Type

Program__________ Male_ Female _

Number

Occupations

Connections

Sex Type

Questions

1. In the shows you watched, were more main roles taken by males or females? What kinds of occupations did the males have? What kinds of occupations did the females have? Were there status differences in the occupations of the males and females? What were they?

2. What kinds of themes connected the males and females in the television programs you watched? Were the themes stereotyped for male-female relationships?

3. What were the sex-typed categories of the males portrayed on television: (masculine, cross-sexed, androgynous)?

4. What were the sex-typed categories of the females portrayed on television: (feminine, cross-sexed, androgynous)?

5. What do you think these models are teaching children about what it means to be a male or a female in our society? Do you think these models are a fair representation of the way women and men act in the real world?

Chapter 12

Research Project 1 Secular Trend

The purpose of this project is to examine the secular trend in the age and other characteristics of puberty in families. Ask your parents and grandparents the age at which each went through puberty (parents should give information on grandparents, if information is not available from grandparents directly). Older students may have mature children that can be included in this chart. Record the age at which you went through puberty, using the data sheet that follows and then answer the questions.

DATA SHEET

Record age of puberty for:

Self Mother _____

Father _____

Maternal:

Grandmother _____

Grandfather _____

Paternal:

Grandmother _____

Grandfather _____

Questions

1. Does the age of onset of puberty differ for the three different generations represented in the data? If so, in what way?

2. Does the age of onset of puberty differ for the two sexes? What is the direction of the difference?

3. How do the findings on generational differences relate to the trends described in the text? Why might they be similar or different from the findings described in the text?

4. How do the findings here on sex differences on age of puberty relate to data in the text?